Yangian symmetry of light-like Wilson loops

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that certain light-like Wilson loops in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory exhibit Yangian symmetry at one loop, revealing a hidden integrable structure related to conformal symmetry.

Contribution

It establishes the presence of Yangian symmetry in light-like Wilson loops at one loop, connecting conformal symmetry to integrability in N=4 SYM.

Findings

Yangian symmetry constrains Wilson loop form

Symmetry observed at one loop in Abelian theory

Links Wilson loops to scattering amplitude symmetries

Abstract

We show that a certain class of light-like Wilson loops exhibits a Yangian symmetry at one loop, or equivalently, in an Abelian theory. The Wilson loops we discuss are equivalent to one-loop MHV amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory in a certain kinematical regime. The fact that we find a Yangian symmetry constraining their functional form can be thought of as the effect of the original conformal symmetry associated to the scattering amplitudes in the N=4 theory.